2025 NHL Draft: Lose a ton for Porter Martone

[Grinner]

It’s not likely but I think it’s doable. We can do the reverse-Arizona to move up to 11. We could then trade that and the Edmonton 1st to get there if Buffalo wants to move the pick. Is it worth it though? Are any of the post-four prospects worth two late 1st rounders, an early 2nd, and a late 2nd? If one of the top four dropped there, I could understand it. Maybe I can be sold on someone in that 5-10 range but I don’t see it currently.

Seems we need to target a team that needs to address a depleted prospect pool. Much like when Grier traded down.

 

[coooldude]

Hensler's game is missing that 'grab-it' mentality. He has moments when he jumps up in transition and makes something happen. Another option for the Sharks in the 2rd round (pick #52) for a right-handed defenseman (RHD) is Henry Brzustewicz.

Here are the top 10 Defensemen in the draft.

Player Name​	Position​	Height​	Age​	League​	Projected Draft Position​
Matthew Schaefer	LHD	6'3"	18	OHL (Erie Otters)	Top 3
Jackson Smith	LHD	6'2"	18	WHL (Tri-City Americans)	Top 10
Kashawn Aitcheson	LHD	6'1"	18	OHL (Barrie Colts)	Top 15
Blake Fiddler	RHD	6'2"	18	WHL (Edmonton Oil Kings)	Top 20
Cameron Reid	LHD	6'0"	18	OHL (Kitchener Rangers)	Top 25
Radim Mrtka	RHD	6'0"	18	WHL (Seattle Thunderbirds)	Top 30
Logan Hensler	RHD	6'1"	18	NCAA (University of Wisconsin)	Top 35
Haoxi (Simon) Wang	LHD	6'1"	18	OHL (Oshawa Generals)	Top 40
Henry Brzustewicz	RHD	6'2"	18	OHL (London Knights)	Top 50
Carter Amico	RHD	6'0"	18	USNTDP	Top 60

Is this a chatGPT table? It's all wrong.

Amico and Mrtka are 6'6". Mrtka is probably gone top 10. Hensler likely gone in the teens. Fiddler could fall farther than top 20.

I personally don't care for Brzustewicz, but then again this draft is 90% about what happens with our top pick and 9.9% about what happens with the DAL pick and our 2nd round, and the rest of the picks probably don't matter that much for our franchise's future.

 

[Grinner]

I was hoping for a little more explanation than "I see a middle-six center" when I asked what you liked about him.

As I said, the reason I don't want him with 28 or 33 is that he looks like a third liner in the CHL. Same situation as Svoboda looking like a third liner in the NCAA. Guys like that don't translate to being top-9 NHL scorers, but they can make great fourth liners if everything goes right. And I don't believe Nesbitt has top-9 NHL scoring talent.

Obviously you disagree, so I was hoping you could make that argument for him.

I've made no secrets as to my methods. I start with a profile of the type of players I have an interest in
And then I try to weigh them against what I perceive to be the teams needs. I'll follow them up as best as I can. Then I sit back and leave the rest to them.

 

[StrawHatEklund]

I think what would be nice for fans is to win the 2 final remaining home games. If not, then one of the road games + season closer against the Oilers. If Hawks beat either the Penguins/Bruins this week, 3 wins would be a treat.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Seems we need to target a team that needs to address a depleted prospect pool. Much like when Grier traded down.

I think teams like Pittsburgh and both New York teams would probably have interest in moving back for more picks. Boston would maybe be a suitor if they drop to six or lower but that may be too much to make happen for our team and for whoever we're targeting. It may not happen since that deal doesn't happen that often but I would think it's possible under the right circumstances.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I've made no secrets as to my methods. I start with a profile of the type of players I have an interest in
And then I try to weigh them against what I perceive to be the teams needs. I'll follow them up as best as I can. Then I sit back and leave the rest to them.

That isn't answering my question of what you like about Nesbitt that makes you feel that he's a future 3C.

Do you like his skating? Size? Shot? Physicality? Defensive play? Playmaking? Is it something else? What attributes does he have that make you think he's a future 3C?

 

[Juxtaposer]

Is this a chatGPT table? It's all wrong.

Amico and Mrtka are 6'6". Mrtka is probably gone top 10. Hensler likely gone in the teens. Fiddler could fall farther than top 20.

I personally don't care for Brzustewicz, but then again this draft is 90% about what happens with our top pick and 9.9% about what happens with the DAL pick and our 2nd round, and the rest of the picks probably don't matter that much for our franchise's future.

It definitely is ChatGPT. Embarrassing.

 

[weastern bias]

What a present the Sharks got from Chicago today. With 6 games left, they now only need 4 losses to secure top-3 pick. It's entirely possible that we could end up picking 3rd overall. But ensuring that we get no worse than 3rd overall is nice. Any of Schaefer, Misa or Hagens would look great in teal next year.

I think we need to be emotionally prepared for our first round pick not to play on the Sharks next year

There's no Celebrini in this class, it's exceedingly rare for a teenager to be ready for the NHL, no matter where we pick in the top-4 it's quite likely they aren't on the team next October

 

[sharski]

Celebrini has definitely spoiled us re: rookie expectations... even Smith got some harsh criticisms at the beginnig of the year because Celebrini was just legit from day 1 debuting alongside him

who else has been a full time NHL player for the sharks at 18 besides marleau and friesen

 

[Bizz]

Celebrini has definitely spoiled us re: rookie expectations... even Smith got some harsh criticisms at the beginnig of the year because Celebrini was just legit from day 1 debuting alongside him

who else has been a full time NHL player for the sharks at 18 besides marleau and friesen

Falloon was 18 his rookie year wasn't he? Same with Whitney.

 

[coooldude]

Falloon was 18 his rookie year wasn't he? Same with Whitney.

That was 1991, and Falloon sucked. He certainly didn't look as good as Celebrini in his first year.

Whitney played his D+1 in the AHL and only got 2 games with the Sharks. He played 26 games in D+2, and 46 in the minors. He wasn't a fulltime player until D+3.

Friesen in D+1 played in the WHL for 25 games, and SJS for 48. He was exciting because he was fast, and he scored 15 goals, but he wasn't a full time player from day 1.

I got all this from Elite Prospects. All public info.

 

[Bizz]

That was 1991, and Falloon sucked. He certainly didn't look as good as Celebrini in his first year.

Whitney played his D+1 in the AHL and only got 2 games with the Sharks. He played 26 games in D+2, and 46 in the minors. He wasn't a fulltime player until D+3.

Friesen in D+1 played in the WHL for 25 games, and SJS for 48. He was exciting because he was fast, and he scored 15 goals, but he wasn't a full time player from day 1.

I got all this from Elite Prospects. All public info.

>59 points in his rookie season on a terrible team
>sucked

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I think we need to be emotionally prepared for our first round pick not to play on the Sharks next year

There's no Celebrini in this class, it's exceedingly rare for a teenager to be ready for the NHL, no matter where we pick in the top-4 it's quite likely they aren't on the team next October

I think we have good odds of seeing whoever we pick getting some time in the NHL next season though I agree it's not likely to start the season with them unless we got 1OA.

 

[coooldude]

>59 points in his rookie season on a terrible team
>sucked

By all means, avoid where you were wrong on Whitney and Friesen and nitpick an example from 34 years ago.

Would you stand by the statement that Pat Falloon was anything other than a disappointment? Honestly I don't care either way, because it's clear he was, and it's fine to say that we aren't used to 18 year olds playing a full season in our franchise. It's rare enough in the entire league. That's what started this back and forth.

 

[anthonyyy]

I think we need to be emotionally prepared for our first round pick not to play on the Sharks next year

There's no Celebrini in this class, it's exceedingly rare for a teenager to be ready for the NHL, no matter where we pick in the top-4 it's quite likely they aren't on the team next October

This is not direct at you necessarily, but did people really expect Shaefer or Misa to come in and save the franchise next year? I'm definitely expecting them to play juniors next year, and if they blow the coaches out of the water in preseason/9 game audition, then good for everyone.

 

[Star Platinum]

By all means, avoid where you were wrong on Whitney and Friesen and nitpick an example from 34 years ago.

Would you stand by the statement that Pat Falloon was anything other than a disappointment? Honestly I don't care either way, because it's clear he was, and it's fine to say that we aren't used to 18 year olds playing a full season in our franchise. It's rare enough in the entire league. That's what started this back and forth.

I was disappointed by all three of Falloon, Friesen, and also Marleau until Thornton arrived and Marleau didn't have the weight of being the best player on the team anymore.

 

[Bizz]

By all means, avoid where you were wrong on Whitney and Friesen and nitpick an example from 34 years ago.

Would you stand by the statement that Pat Falloon was anything other than a disappointment? Honestly I don't care either way, because it's clear he was, and it's fine to say that we aren't used to 18 year olds playing a full season in our franchise. It's rare enough in the entire league. That's what started this back and forth.

I never said I was right on Whitney and I never said a god damn thing about Friesen, but if you want to get all combative about it while being dead f***ing wrong about Falloon's rookie season then you're gonna find your way onto my ignore list with all the other terrible posters on this board, bucko.

 

[Bizz]

I was disappointed by all three of Falloon, Friesen, and also Marleau until Thornton arrived and Marleau didn't have the weight of being the best player on the team anymore.

Falloon had two decent seasons before his career fell off mainly due to injures. Friesen was far from a disappointment. He was easily the best player the Sharks ever had before Nolan came around.

 

[TheBeard]

By all means, avoid where you were wrong on Whitney and Friesen and nitpick an example from 34 years ago.

Would you stand by the statement that Pat Falloon was anything other than a disappointment? Honestly I don't care either way, because it's clear he was, and it's fine to say that we aren't used to 18 year olds playing a full season in our franchise. It's rare enough in the entire league. That's what started this back and forth.

It's not like the team was wrong about Falloon, they were, but the situation he was thrown into made it look a lot worse than it was. Just a bunch of aging vets who were there for a paycheck and a chance to get the hell out.

 

[Yummyshark]

I think we need to be emotionally prepared for our first round pick not to play on the Sharks next year

There's no Celebrini in this class, it's exceedingly rare for a teenager to be ready for the NHL, no matter where we pick in the top-4 it's quite likely they aren't on the team next October

Given that next season we will still be a basement dwelling team, that works just fine for the rebuild timeline. Next draft is going to be a monster, with the most hyped wing prospect since Kane and some true #1 RDs like Verhoeff on tap. Let Misa or the Schaef develop another year along with the rest of the top prospects (Dicky, Cherny, Musty) and tank our way to another top 4 pick.

 

[sampler]

This is not direct at you necessarily, but did people really expect Shaefer or Misa to come in and save the franchise next year? I'm definitely expecting them to play juniors next year, and if they blow the coaches out of the water in preseason/9 game audition, then good for everyone.

I agree. Id be surprised to see our top pick be a shark. Martone seems the most likely though, if he ends up the guy. He's already NHL sized, and he's almost a year older than schaefer and plays the easiest position (wing) to make the NHL leap.

Schaefer or misa would be less likely especially schaefer. Hes one of the youngest in the draft, still 17 on draft day, and barely 18 by opening day. Given that he missed several months, and give him his lack of weight (hes listed 183), Id expect at least one full year in the O to bulk up, and solidify himself. Shocking if he made the team out of camp, though, as written above, he might get a little tryout.

Misa could go either way as hes neither big nor small, and a Feb born.

Either way, I don't expect the sharks will be looking to make the PO's next year no matter what. Its one more development year, likely to end similar to this one with a draft capital accumulation at the deadline trading away Wennberg, Ferraro, and any one-two year summer UFAs acquisitions.

The main goal of next year will be to get a full year pro experience for Musty, Cherny, Dick, and Haltunnen and possibly landen and Pohlcamp too along with full time NHL experience for Cagnoni, Mukh, and maybe Thompson as well as bystedt. Hopefully finish somewhere better than the bottom 5 so we can get a little winning culture into the building.

However, the '26-'27 season should be go for it time. Smith-Celly in their third years, Ek in his 4th season. Graf, Mukh, cherny, musty, dick, cagnoni, bystedt, pohlcamp, all in their second or third pro years. Askarov in his second full NHL season. And the top '25 pick as the only major first year pro.

With some clever acquisitions, they should very well be ready to compete for a PO's spot then.

 

[Bizz]

This is not direct at you necessarily, but did people really expect Shaefer or Misa to come in and save the franchise next year? I'm definitely expecting them to play juniors next year, and if they blow the coaches out of the water in preseason/9 game audition, then good for everyone.

Kane and Towes didn't come in and save the Hawks at the time, but their GM did what was necessary to take the next steps towards contention right after they came on board. At some point the same is to be expected from Mike Grier.

 

[sampler]

Given that next season we will still be a basement dwelling team, that works just fine for the rebuild timeline. Next draft is going to be a monster, with the most hyped wing prospect since Kane and some true #1 RDs like Verhoeff on tap. Let Misa or the Schaef develop another year along with the rest of the top prospects (Dicky, Cherny, Musty) and tank our way to another top 4 pick.

I dont think tanking for a shot at McKenna is a good play. Yes, of course, he's be amazing to get. However, at some point, you need to start building a winning culture or you risk short circuiting your rebuild. I am hoping they do much better next year than this year, and I fully expect that given the graduation of the kids.

I suppose they could plop them all in the AHL and continue to dress dyllandrea, grundstrom, goodrow, and similar summer acquistions each night. Then the Cuda can dominate as the sharks stink.

Still, the kids need to win. They need help. They need more mentors and more talent around them. You can see how celebrini has hit a wall. He's tired. Hes frustrated, and given his size as well as Smith's, they need help in the form of large linemates that can do some heavy lifting. To my knowledge, the sharks currentyl do not have a single true top 9 forward that exceeds 203 lbs (toffoli) or a single D above 209 (ferraro... Ok Desharnais, but he barely counts).

I don't think its good for the kids to keep being physically overmatched night after night. They look exhausted, and they need some help with some skill. Not ostapchuk or goodrow types.

I am not holidng out any hope of getting mckenna or vorhoeff. It's like we'll be in the lottery for Mckenna but I don't wanna be dead last again.

 

[coooldude]

Kane and Towes didn't come in and save the Hawks at the time, but their GM did what was necessary to take the next steps towards contention right after they came on board. At some point the same is to be expected from Mike Grier.

The more relevant rebuild would be Colorado. Kane and Toews were near the finishing pieces on that team, having already drafted Keith (2002), Seabrook and Byfuglien (2003), Bolland and Brouwer (2004), Hjalmarsson (2005), and had already added Byfuglien and Sharp (2006), before they ever drafted Toews and Kane, then added Hossa in 2010.

We're starting much more like Colorado, with Eklund (Duchene), Smith (Landeskog), Celebrini (MacKinnon), but still have a long way to go before we are deep on D or F. Like COL, we may have a few more seasons of missing the PO's but looking more and more offensively dangerous, but struggling to fill out a deep team or a D corps. Sure, they had one fluke playoff appearance but then back into the dumps. They backed their way into Byram and Makar and that was the final pieces they needed.

We will have to get lucky for Schaefer AND have him hit, plus see all our other depth pieces develop, or Grier adds a ton in the offseason, in order to match a CHI-style timeline. I think it's unlikely.

Or, you could use the Lightning as a comp. We have our Stamkos (2008) but not our Hedman (2009) unless we get lucky this lottery. Then they added Gudas (2010), Namestnikov and Kucherov (2011) and Point (2014), and even still didn't touch the cup until 2020.

This is why I have continued to argue that our rebuild is more likely to look like these two -- AKA, we see a cup finals appearance about 9-10 years after drafting Celebrini. But I would love to be wrong.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

This is not direct at you necessarily, but did people really expect Shaefer or Misa to come in and save the franchise next year? I'm definitely expecting them to play juniors next year, and if they blow the coaches out of the water in preseason/9 game audition, then good for everyone.

Most 1OA picks go right to the NHL. Lots of 2OA picks do also. It is very possible that Schaefer and Misa both play in the NHL next year no matter who picks them. Now, “save the franchise”, that’s a another thing.